“I wish I was more persistent.”

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(The 30,000 foot view from today’s episode #492)

A lack of persistence is a lack of one or more of these key ingredients. Think of persistence as a 4 link chain. You must have all 4 to develop persistence.

Napoleon Hill wrote that persistence is made of 4 ingredients:

1. Purpose: What do you want to have happen? Not “Ooh that’d be kinda nice,” NO specifically what do you want? (Most people stop at purpose)

2. Plan: Engineer a plan. I reverse engineer my sales goals (results/ close % = at bats / working days = per day), but I forward engineer my weight loss. (Bust a sweat every day. Eat clean foods only) The point is to keep it simple and engineer it in the way that works for you.

3. Focus: Don’t fall asleep at life’s wheel. Pay attention to the numbers. Keep in mind that the numbers will NEVER WORK AGAINST YOU. It’s the emotions that you associate to your numbers that is working against you. Numbers are just being numbers. It doesn’t take emotions to add 2+2. A 1 is a 1…a 3 is a 3. A 5 doesn’t try to be a 3, it’s just being a 5. Now that you have a purpose, and working a plan, maintain your focus and treat numbers as numbers. Period.

4. Alliance: Keep “NO” people in your life. The kind of people who call you out on your laziness and slack. Don’t make “don’t want” people part of your alliance. Ally yourself with people who are higher, more powerful than you-who will call you out when you pull up.

The reason why you don’t have persistence is because you haven’t defined persistence and if you haven’t defined persistence, then you can’t be definite in persistence. 

*NOTE: I talk more in detail about developing your persistence on the podcast. Tune in to learn more! Search for The Sales Life podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. 

 

Shift happens

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Name any sport in any year & a team(s) is going have to deal with a season-ending injury of a star player. As devastating as the loss, the team has to figure out a way to win without them.

Shift happens…

Seeing injuries I’m reminded of 3 things:

🔥We’re all replaceable: As good as you are, don’t think “they” can’t go on without you. After amassing so much knowledge and skills, I thought I was irreplaceable until one day they called me in & demoted me to the bottom rung. Those who answered to me yesterday, I answered to them the next day.

It turned out, the demotion was the best thing that happened for me.

What happens to you now, happens for you later.

I saw firsthand that the store could move on (quite well) without me in the lead position.

Understanding that we’re all replaceable, make yourself replaceable by being ready at any time to move up.

See, someone above you thinks they’re irreplaceable like I did & life will show them otherwise…you just need to be ready to seamlessly step in when the opportunity comes.

🔥Be ready to step up. You don’t wait to first see the opening, then get ready-no, you get ready now. Don’t just sit there in judgement thinking you can do better than the other guy. Because you’re in a secondary position (for now 😉) you have the advantage of having a front row seat to the ins & outs of that position. See what works & doesn’t work now so you’ll be ready later.

🔥You will face injuries. Your injuries may be physical-you hurt yourself working out…but you still gotta workout! Keep showing up & do what you can.

You may also face emotional injuries like a lay-off, demotion, divorce, or health crises- as traumatic as these events are, realize the game of life goes on. Use what you have left to create more in your life.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

Wait! I didn’t plan for that!

General George Patton said, “Successful people make plans to fit the circumstances…they don’t try to fit circumstances into their plans…”

You PLANNED to get up early, get in shape, have a better sales month, be more productive at work, or work on your relationship…

& unforeseen circumstances arise & you say, “Wait! I didn’t plan for that!”

Confused & panicked, you furiously tryto fit the current circumstances into your already made plans.

& when the circumstances are unbendable, seemingly unmovable, you quit trying and revert back to your old ways.

Have a plan, but remain flexible, because circumstances will pop up- & most of it you didn’t plan for.

Make a new plan to fit the circumstances.

When I played college ball, we scripted the first 10 plays of the game…

Rarely did we roll out with 1 through 10. Field position & coverages, i.e. circumstances changed & we had to modify the plan.

Make a plan…work the plan…expect circumstances, & work a new plan to fit those new circumstances.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

Video 👉https://youtu.be/jMViLwgRFzY

“There’s a paddle coming for your ass.”

I was so excited about this book, I shelved the planned podcast episode in order to get this one out…

Today we’re jumping in on billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s book “Shut up & Listen!”

Fertitta is the owner of The Golden Nugget Casinos, over 600 restaurants including Morton’s Steakhouse, Landry’s Seafood, Saltgrass Steakhouse, & Rainforest Cafe to name a few…

Oh & he’s the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

Obviously, there’s a reason Fertitta can tell you to shut up & listen.

He starts the book with, “There’s a paddle for everyone’s ass & you never know when it’s coming or where it’s coming from…

…the “paddle” is the force that’s taking square aim at your success & growth.”

Someone, somewhere is working to overtake you or knock you off your lead…so you better be the bull.

🔥Part of the reason the paddle finds your ass is because you’ve lost your hunger.

Hunger goes both ways…

In good times, you grow overconfident & complacent, thinking it’ll stay good forever…

Nothing stays the same. 🔥When it’s good, bad is on the way…🔥When it’s bad, good ain’t far off.

In good times keep your hunger by working with (Fertitta’s) “Poor Mindset” & “95/5 Rule” (my favorite).

& when it’s bad, keep your hunger.

In bad times it’s easy to accept that it’s too late, you’re outmatched, or have no options.

Not true…never stop fighting for options. “Until they padlock your front door” or you’re physically restrained, you still have options.

You just don’t see them because the only thing you see in your darkness is despair.

View your “problems” as challenges & you’ll find your silver linings.

Get the book…I’ll keep it with me and use as a reference guide.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

Podcast episode 👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sales-life-with-marsh-buice/id1292788623#episodeGuid=a7b8d2ee-d9c2-b746-4390-18c2f13a91de

Get the book 👉 https://www.amazon.com/Shut-Up-Listen-Business-Succeed/dp/1400213738/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=tilman+fertitta+shut+up+and+listen&qid=1571832710&sprefix=tilman&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVERMUEQxV0ZKMVdUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjc4Mjc0MlY5SE0xVDhWQzJOSSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDEzNDI1MzVaWU1MMFVQODNRViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Make an “interest only” payment to yourself

So your plan to get up early and work out didn’t quite become a reality this morning …

Last night it seemed easy-squeezy- but now you find yourself running behind like all of the other mornings because you overslept…again.

Instead of beating yourself up all day…& quitting before you really get started…

🔥Make an “interest only” payment to yourself.

Financially, if you can’t make a full payment on a loan, you can call your creditor & make an “interest only” payment. It keeps you from defaulting & only pays them interest on the money they loaned you.

In the same way, making an “interest only” payment keeps you from defaulting on your promise to yourself to get in better shape.

While you may not have time to do a full, regular workout, make an “interest only” payment by doing a 10-15 min workout on your lunch break, in your garage, or in your living room tonight. Air squats, burpees, pushups, dips (using 2 chairs), or a walk/run around your block should do the trick.

You’ll fell better about yourself & your body & mind will begin to transform because you just proved you’re committed to never going back.

~Stay in The Sales Life 💪

Full video 👉https://youtu.be/mzYYnRrgTK0

Check out over 400 episodes of The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

You’ve gotta fight for options

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was talking to a recent high school graduate who wants to go into the military…

but didn’t realize he had to prepare to take a test to get in…

With no more classes, freedom, & earning an hourly wage, he said he hadn’t 🔥gotten around to studying for it yet…

“Do you want to stay in this town & work to earn just enough money to eat Ramen noodles, drive a hooptie, and barely pay rent for the rest of your life?”

🔥Then you have to fight for your options…

Right now- whether you’re a recent graduate or are 30,40,50,60,70 years old…

You may be bankrupt, fired, or at a dead end today…

🔥Now may be all you have, but that’s not all there is…

Options aren’t given…they’re earned & you gotta fight for your options.

While others play…while the rest accept life as is…

You work to gain options…this is a solo decision…& if you want more, bigger, & better, then you have to work to elevate yourself in such away that you can afford to walk away, say No…or even say YES…

Because you have options 😉

Check out over 400 episodes of The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

~Stay in The Sales Life 💪

It ain’t by accident…it’s by drive

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NBA legend Kobe Bryant said everything he did-EVERYTHING, was to become a better basketball player.

“Because I had that mindset, 🔥the world became my library..& because I knew what I wanted the world helped make that happen.”

So many people drift in life…

They don’t know what they want so it’s no wonder they’re barely getting by.

🔥When you know what you’re looking for & what you want, the world will help make that happen.

It’s not by accident…it’s by drive.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

Trust…but verify

In #sales, confidence is everything…

But what about when you lose your confidence?

You put your confidence in the wrong thing…

You put your confidence in the customer or a specific outcome & when they bought elsewhere you got pissed off…which leads to less effort…which leads to eventually quitting.

“Buyers are liars…” right?

Nope…buyers aren’t liars…

They’re just not telling you everything…

Trust but verify…

Business owners hire independent auditors to verify what the business’ accountant is saying…

The IRS trusts your returns…

…but they will verify.

You lose your confidence- thinking “they’re all liars” because you trusted they were:

…6 months out

…wanted to shop around

…couldn’t get approved

Only to discover they bought somewhere else.

Trust…but verify.

Your body language & tone tell your customers you trust what they’re saying…

But your questions verify if it’s a stall or real objection.

It’s not that you don’t trust them…you just need to verify.

~Stay in The Sales 💪ife

Square the Circle…don’t Circle the Square

When I’m pressed for time, I’ll run a quick 2 miles around the road that circles my house. (4 laps = 1 mile)

Because I had to force myself to hit the road, I try to hurry & get it over with by cutting the corners instead of fully rounding them off.

At the time, it seems like I’m getting around the circle quicker, but after eight laps, mentally I’m trying to pull up, but my watch tells me to keep running…

It’s not yet 2 miles…

Come to find out, because I cut the corners, I end up having to take needless, extra steps.

An extra 100 ft doesn’t seem like much, but if I add that extra 100 ft up over the next 52 runs, I end up adding a mile’s worth of steps for the same “2 mile” run.

Sound familiar?

You’re tired…sore…frustrated…& the month’s been grueling…

Nothing seems to be going your way…

So you cut the corners…

In an effort to “save time,” you rush through customers, quickly assessing if they’re buying or not…

You take extra days off to rest from last week’s leg day at the gym…

You jump from one relationship into the next proclaiming, “this is the one…”

You “put it all on the card” or renew the loan this month and gamble on figuring out how to make the payments next month(s)…

You cut the corners…because it seems like it’s the quickest way to make your lap that day…

Hurry & get it over with seems logical…

But it’s costly…

Because this is a long race you’re running & you’re needlessly adding extra steps to achieve a decision…outcome…or goal.

Run the full mile you’re in…

Today, I know you don’t feel like it…I know it’s been rough…I know the extra weight of frustration, fatigue, & anger make your run slower & harder…

But take the steps now…

All of them…

Because you’ll take fewer in the long run.

When I’m on that hard ass, “don’t feel like it” run & feel like cutting the corners…

When the voices are banging in my head- screaming that no one will know that I’m cutting the corners…

I tell myself, “Square the circle…don’t circle the square.”

See, the road around my house is a circle, but the parameters are a square, so if I stay on that parameter, eight laps is two miles…

But if I circle the square & cut the corners, that same two miles ends up costing me extra steps..wasted energy & time.

Square the circle today….

When you cry to yourself, “ I don’t feel like doing this-I’m just going to round this thing off!!!”

Don’t, because it may feel like it’s quicker now, but remember your life isn’t a lap…it’s many, many miles…

Today’s lap may be hard…but in the end the steps will be efficiently fewer…& it’ll all be worth it.

Have an amazing day…

~Stay in The Sales 💪ife.

Quit reading

Evan Carmichael said,

“Reading doesn’t have to be your top priority, but learning should be…”

So maybe reading’s not your bag, but just because you don’t like to read doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn.

You’ve just got to find the way that works better for you.

I get it…

Reading may feel like a chore.

You may fall asleep after 5 minutes of reading or you just can’t seem to stay focused.

That’s cool…don’t beat yourself up because you don’t read or that you’re slow reader.

Beat yourself up because you don’t learn.

🔥Not liking to read is not a reason to not learn.

You’ve got to figure out other ways that you can learn.

I love to read, but after 10 years of voraciously reading I’ve gotten burned out-so much so that I read very little.

But it doesn’t mean that I don’t learn.

I learn through podcasts & I’ve subscribed to YouTube premium where I can listen to YouTube (w/out the screen being on.)

I think ways of learning are seasonal…

There are seasons I like to read & other seasons I prefer audiobooks, podcasts, & YouTube more.

I may stop one, but I never stop learning.

Find what works better for you to keep progressing.

Your 5th grade teacher wasn’t right.

🔥Reading’s not the only way to go, but learning’s the place to be.

Make learning a top priority & it doesn’t have to be in a book.

Have an amazing day.

~Stay in The Sales Life 💪